Metacampus as a Base for a Unite! Blended Intensive Programme (BIP): Competencies for Collaborative Teaching in Joint Programme (Report 04/2025)

The report “Metacampus as a Base for a Unite! Blended Intensive Programme (BIP): Competencies for Collaborative Teaching in Joint Programmes” describes the Erasmus + Blended Intensive Program (BIP) held from June to October 2024 under the Unite! University Network. The six‑week English‑language course aimed to build skills for collaborative teaching in joint programmes among academic staff, lecturers and researchers. The programme combined an online introductory module (June 17 2024), a five‑day on‑site week at KTH Royal Institute of Technology (August 26‑30  2024), and a final online presentation (October 9 2024). Unite!'s federated learning management system (LMS) Metacampus acted as the central LMS, offering secure, institution‑based access to materials, while public channels (KTH website, Unite! portal) provided open information such as schedules. Workshops covered case studies of joint programmes, digital tools for collaboration, administrative challenges (double‑degrees, European Degree), large‑scale teaching strategies, and multicultural learning. Experts from the Unite! community led the sessions. Feedback highlighted the value of the intensive format, the need for hands‑on practice, the complexity of administrative procedures, and the importance of informal networking. Key lessons stress a hybrid digital environment that blends secure Metacampus collaboration with open public communication, and the necessity of a dedicated digital liaison to coordinate local and central IT tools.Recommendations for future BIPs include adopting this hybrid model, clarifying integration of local tools with Metacampus, and assigning a central facilitator to streamline technical and administrative support. 

The series “Unite! Digital Teaching and Learning Success Story Report” was initiated by Cm.2 Digital Campus, led by TU Graz (Martin Ebner) as part of the idea to collect, spread and enhance the possibilities, usages and lessons learned of teaching and learning offers using the federated learning management system Metacampus in 11/2024 till the end of the current Erasmus+ funding period 10/2026. All reports are available under open license and originally published at the TU Graz repository. Copyright holders are the authors.